George William "Bill" Webber (May 2, 1920 – July 10, 2010) was an American

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

minister, and social activist who served as president of the

New York Theological Seminary The New York Theological Seminary (NYTS) is a private non-denominational Christian seminary in New York City. It was founded in 1900 as the Bible Teacher's College. In 2019, Rev. LaKeesha Walrond was appointed as the first woman and the first Af ...

from 1969 to 1983. In 1948, Webber opened a string of storefront churches starting with a church in

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

and developed a program to teach theology to inmates at

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...

Early life and education

Webber was born on May 2, 1920, in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, where he attended Theodore Roosevelt High School.Staff
"The Passing of Dr. George W. Webber, July 10, 2010"
,

. Accessed July 13, 2010. He earned his undergraduate degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, attending on a basketball scholarship, and enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1942. He had originally planned to become a lawyer, but decided to become a minister after thinking during time on his own during long watches as a

gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, pr ...

nery officer aboard the USS ''Breeman'' (DE-104). After completing his military service he graduated with a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

degree from Union Theological Seminary and was awarded a Ph.D. at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning ph ...

.Martin, Douglas
"George W. Webber, Social Activist Minister, Dies at 90"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', July 12, 2010. Accessed July 13, 2010. He was ordained as a minister by the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

Career

In 1948, together with two graduates of Union Theological Seminary he established the East Harlem Protestant Parish, with the goal of leading social change at the local level and serving the needy. This first church led to the formation of additional storefront churches. While many Protestants were moving to the suburbs, Webber moved his family to a

housing project Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authorities, government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the d ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

. Webber was named as President of the New York Theological Seminary in March 1969, an appointment that his predecessor John Sutherland Bonnell opposed, citing concerns that Webber's plan for "radical experimentation" at the school would lead to placing too much focus on social action rather than on evangelism.Dugan, George
"Old-Line Seminary Picks Liberal; New President Sees Need for 'Radical Experimentation' Choice Was Opposed by Predecessor, a Conservative"
''

'', March 10, 1969. Accessed July 13, 2010. During his tenure as president of the seminary from 1969 to 1983, Webber doubled the size of the school's enrollment, reaching out to expand attendance by

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

and female students. He was awarded an honorary degree from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1981, which recognized him as a "prophet for the cause of justice". In 1974,

United States Ambassador to South Vietnam Following the end of World War II in Asia, France attempted to regain control of Vietnam, as part of French Indochina, which it had lost to Japan in 1941. At the conclusion of the First Indochina War, the country was split into two parts, the No ...

Graham Martin Graham Anderson Martin (September 22, 1912 – March 13, 1990) was an American diplomat. He was the ambassador to Thailand and as U.S. representative to SEATO from 1963 to 1967, ambassador to Italy from 1969 to 1973 and the last United States Am ...

wrote a lengthy letter to Webber, asking him to use his "great influence" with the

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

to convince them to suspend further attacks on civilian targets. Martin publicly blamed Webber as "implicitly responsible" for a mortar attack that resulted in the deaths of 32 South Vietnamese children.

Later life

Webber created a theological training program at

prison in

Ossining, New York Ossining may refer to: * Ossining (town), New York, a town in Westchester County, New York state *Ossining (village), New York, a village in the town of Ossining * Ossining High School, a comprehensive public high school in Ossining village * Ossi ...

, which had awarded

Master of Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a stand ...

degrees to 350 inmates by the time of Webber's death in 2010. Many of the graduates went on to lead churches and other social service careers, with very few returning to prison. Graduates of the prison program have worked as chaplain's assistants and as counselors, with several pursuing ordination after their release. In a 1993 article in ''

'',

Ari L. Goldman Ari L. Goldman (born September 22, 1949) is an American professor and journalist. He is professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former reporter for ''The New York Times''. Early life and education Goldman attended the Rabbi Jacob ...

called the program the only one of its kind in the United States. Goldman, Ari L.br>"Religion Notes"
''

'', June 19, 1993. Accessed July 13, 2010.

Death

Webber died at age 90 on July 10, 2010, at his home in

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's populatio ...

as a result of complications of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. He was survived by his wife, the former Helen Barton, as well as by two daughters, three sons, 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Books published

He was the author of three books about his ministry: *- Total pages: 158 *- Total pages: 160 *- Total pages: 208 *- Total pages: 208

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, George W. 1920 births 2010 deaths American Christian clergy American Christian theologians United States Navy personnel of World War II Deaths from dementia in New Jersey Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Harvard University alumni Writers from Des Moines, Iowa People from Maplewood, New Jersey Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni United Church of Christ ministers Writers from New Jersey Writers from New York City United States Navy officers Theodore Roosevelt High School (Iowa) alumni Military personnel from New Jersey Military personnel from Iowa